It is never too late to turn dreams into a reality. This has been proven by sisters, Dr Phumudzo Nemutaduni, 39, and Salani Nemutaduni, 31, who recently graduated with MBA Degrees at MANCOSA’s graduation ceremony.
“It was a most defining and emotional moment for my mother, my sister and I. My father would have been very proud of us,” said Dr Nemutaduni.
Growing up, Dr Nemutaduni dreamed of being a medical doctor.
“In eighth grade, I addressed myself as Dr Nemutaduni on the cover of my books, which some teachers frowned upon, but I had a dream,” she said.
In addition to her MBA, she holds a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery Degrees (MBChB), a Masters in Nuclear Medicine (Mmed) and a Nuclear Medicine Fellowship.
After completing her studies in Nuclear Medicine, Dr Nemutaduni faced the possibility of having to relocate from Johannesburg to another province in order to secure a specialist post. However, the mother of two did not want to relocate and leave her children.
“I continued to work as a registrar, earning the same salary I had earned four years prior when I joined the department and depression started sinking in with each passing month,” she said.
This led her to pursue MBA studies through private higher education institution, MANCOSA.
“I needed an MBA to help improve my knowledge about business, personal development, business communication skills and develop management skills,” she said.
Dr Nemutaduni believes that further education and acquiring leadership skills are essential to empowering the youth to have problem-solving skills that they can apply to real-world situations.
“Leadership skills also help build confidence among youth and teaches them how to help others in historically-disadvantaged areas with limited resources,” she said.
Dr Nemutaduni’s goal is to help market medical equipment into Africa that assist in the early diagnosis of cancer. The cause is close to her heart, having lost her father and brother-in-law to the disease.
She plans to complete an executive summary for her PhD, learn more about the mining sector and expand her studies in Nuclear Medicine, focusing on Nuclear Oncology.
Salani Nemutaduni was adamant to succeed. One of the adversities that she faced on her journey was gaining admission to university because of a problem with her matric certificate.
“When I failed to secure admission in Gauteng, I took a bus to Free State with no luggage but my documents in hand. I had no idea where I was going except for the fact that I was not going back to Limpopo without an admission letter from any reputable university,” she said.
She holds a Bachelor of Social Science Degree in Psychology and an Honours Degree in Psychology.
Salani struggled to enrol into a Master’s programme in Clinical Psychology. She was later encouraged by her brother-in-law to enrol for her MBA degree at MANCOSA.
“The MBA qualification has opened my eyes to the world of business and what it takes to grow your business. The qualification helped me discover a niche and learn how to serve and operate within the particular niche,” she said.
According to Salani, the achievements of her family have always inspired and motivated her to push herself to her limits. She said that studying with her sister helped make the MBA experience less daunting.
“She understood all the high and low moments and the mental blocks that she experienced. We gave each other support and helped each other master concepts that the other understood better,” she added.
Salani’s greatest strength is her resilience.
“I have been resilient in all situations because I know that it all serves a purpose and the road to the top is not easy. Motivation will get you started on a journey but resilience will keep you going till you eventually get to the finish line,” she said
Salani’s goals are to grow in the recruitment space and build up her recruitment agency to help equip candidates with courses and master classes that will set them apart from the rest.
Her recipe for success is to plan, learn and be ready for opportunities when they arrive.
“It is the small and repetitive tasks that yield into success. I believe in asking for assistance if I do not know. I am open to learning and admitting when I am wrong. Success comes through learning from your mistakes,” she added.
The Nemutaduni sisters are forces to be reckoned with and the journey never stops for them. When asked about their next steps, the two expressed their desire to now move on to registering for their PhD.
